Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

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Mix the dough, wait a day, and start stretching pies.

By

J. Kenji López-Alt

Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe (1)

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated August 31, 2023

Why It Works

  • A longer fermentation time allows enzymes to break down the flour's protein, resulting in a stretchy, fully leavened pizza dough with no physical kneading.
  • Treat the dough gently so it holds its character and texture.

Any New Yorker who eats bread has most likely tried some of the magical edible stuff thatJim Laheyproduces atSullivan Street Bakeryor at Sullivan Street Pizza (formerly known as Co.).

Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe (2)

Through meticulous scientific investigation, I think I've finally discovered the true secret to getting bread as good as Lahey's on a completely, 100% consistent basis. Step one: get Jim Lahey to make it.

Ok, ok. So I admit, it's not a particularly practical method, and my sample pool here was one. That said, when Mark Bittman and Jim Lahey dropped theno-knead breadrecipe on the world back in 2006, with a single short youtube video, they did more to improve home baking than perhaps any other single event in history. I know that I've personally never looked back. (Seemy own explanation of the science here).

Lahey's first book,My Bread, was all about the no-knead method. The way you do it? Just mix flour, salt, and yeast, add water, stir it all together, then let it sit in a covered bowl for eight or nine hours. Over the course of this long fermentation, enzymes break down large flour proteins into smaller segments that can then quite easily be cross-linked into stretchy sheets of gluten. You wind up with a dough that stretches as if it had been perfectly kneaded, without any of the oxidation that occurs with actual kneading.

The result? Perfectly textured bread with next to no work.

Lahey's bookMy Pizzapromises to do for pizza whatMy Breaddid for bread. It's largely based on his no-knead dough, with dozens of recipes for topping combinations that are tomato-based, white sauce-based, and completely sauceless. You'll find most of the pies from Sullivan Street Pizza within its pages.

If there's one thing any home pizza maker can tell you, it's that it's nearly impossible to get the same bubbly, crisp, charring that you get from a real-deal wood-fired Neapolitan pizza oven. Check out the video below as Jim Lahey shows us that not only is it possible, it's actually pretty damn easy to do.

First, a note from Lahey:

While I'm not picky about the flour—either bread flour or all-purpose is fine—what does concern me is how the dough is handled. Treat it gently so the dough holds its character, its texture. When you get around to shaping the disk for a pie, go easy as you stretch it to allow it to retain a bit of bumpiness (I think of it as blistering), so not all of the gas is smashed out of the fermented dough. I prefer to hold off on shaping the ball until just before topping it. If it's going to sit for a while—more than a couple of minutes—cover it with a damp kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out. I offer you two approaches for shaping. The simpler one, executed completely on the work surface, is slower than the second, where you lift the disk in the air and stretch it by rotating it on your knuckles. Lifting it into the air to shape it is more fun, too.

For more tips on stretching, topping, and baking your dough, check out the video below.

This dough is perfect for making Lahey's recipe for pizza topped with broccoli rabe, garlic, ginger, and Thai chiles.

March 2012

Recipe Details

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Pizza Dough

Prep5 mins

Active10 mins

Rising Time18 hrs

Total18 hrs 5 mins

Serves4to 6 servings

Makes4 pizzas

Ingredients

  • 500g all-purpose flour (17 1/2 ounces; about 3 3/4 cups), plus more for shaping the dough

  • 1g (1/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast

  • 16g (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt

  • 350g (1 1/2 cups) water

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and, with a wooden spoon or your hands, mix thoroughly.

  2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature (about 72°F/22°C) for 18 hours or until it has more than doubled. It will take longer in a chilly room and less time in a very warm one.

  3. Flour a work surface and scrape out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal parts and shape them: For each portion, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. (The order doesn’t actually matter; what you want is four folds.) Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour.

  4. If you don’t intend to use the dough right away, wrap the balls individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter, covered in a damp cloth, for 2 to 3 hours before needed.

Read More

  • Jim Lahey's No Knead Broccoli Rabe, Garlic, Ginger, and Thai Chili Pizza
  • Jim Lahey's Pizza Bianca
  • Jim Lahey's Cauliflower Pie
  • Jim Lahey's Basic Tomato Sauce
  • Pizza
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
304Calories
1g Fat
64g Carbs
9g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4to 6
Amount per serving
Calories304
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g1%
Saturated Fat 0g1%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 1038mg45%
Total Carbohydrate 64g23%
Dietary Fiber 2g8%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 15mg1%
Iron 4mg22%
Potassium 91mg2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Does kneading pizza dough make it better? ›

So, how do you achieve this indescribably perfect pizza dough? Well it all comes down to kneading. A lot of people think that kneading is just for show or that it's just a way of combining the ingredients, but the process of kneading is actually essential to achieving the perfect pizza dough.

What happens if you don't knead pizza dough? ›

What happens if you under knead pizza dough? Under kneading causes a lack of strength and stretchiness in the pizza dough. The dough will tear easily when stretched and will not hold it's shape as well as a fully kneaded dough.

What makes pizza dough tough and chewy? ›

The chew in dough comes from the flour used to prepare it. Bread flour contains higher protein content than all-purpose flour which gives pizza crust its chew.

Why do you poke holes in pizza dough? ›

the reason is to prevent any large air bubbles in your. pizza base while it's baking. 🍕🍕🍕

What is the secret to making good pizza dough? ›

The secret to great dough isn't kneading or throwing . . .

It's good old-fashioned H20. “Water, water, water,” says Falco. “Pizza dough made at home should be 50 percent water. Pizza needs to cook longer in a home oven, which means the dough needs to be more hydrated.”

What not to do when making pizza dough? ›

Hopefully, after reading this, you'll be a pizza pro.
  1. Wrong Yeast Usage. ...
  2. Adding Ingredients at the Wrong Time. ...
  3. Not Letting the Dough Be. ...
  4. Thinning the Dough Too Much. ...
  5. Using Regular Flour To Stretch the Dough. ...
  6. Using Too Much Cheese. ...
  7. Using Too Many Toppings. ...
  8. Not Heating the Oven Enough.

Can you use too much yeast in pizza dough? ›

Too little yeast and your dough won't rise enough, and the pizza base will taste bland. Use too much yeast and your dough may over-ferment. Tell-tale signs are your dough expanding too much or tasting and smelling a bit sour, with an almost alcoholic aftertaste (the yeast produces alcohol as it ferments).

What is the best flour for pizza dough? ›

The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour. In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.

Should pizza dough sit out before cooking? ›

Once you've made your pizza dough, you can place it in the fridge and let it rise overnight for up to 24 hours. Take it out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you intend on using it to let it come to room temperature. This way, you can make your pizza dough the day before. This is great for entertaining.

Why is my pizza dough so hard after baking? ›

Probably you are making your dough with too little water. A good ratio of water to flour for pizza dough is 60–70g of water for every 100g of flour. You could make pizza dough with as little as 50g of water per 100g of flour, but you would find that a bit hard to knead by hand.

What makes pizza dough more airy? ›

Strong bread flour: A higher proportion of protein and a stronger flour to allow for more gluten development. This means your dough is less likely to tear when shaping and you'll end up with a more crisp crust. Better gluten development means more air pockets, which means an airy crust.

Why is my pizza dough tough and not stretchy? ›

The culprits of this doughy push-and-pull are the tight and stubborn gluten strands within the dough. Actions like kneading, folding, and shaping all strengthen the gluten network, but sometimes they make it so strong that the dough becomes resistant to stretching.

Why do you slap pizza dough? ›

to stretch the dough without thinning the centre too. much and will remove any excess flour.

How do I make the bottom of my pizza crust crispy? ›

When building a pan pizza, it's important to apply a liberal coating of olive oil to the bottom of the cold pan before adding your dough. This not only prevents sticking, but further helps the caramelization of the bottom crust, creating that delicious crunch.

Does kneading dough make it rise better? ›

This structure allows for trapping of gases so the bread will rise up nice and high. And gluten is what makes bread deliciously chewy. If you don't knead your dough, your baked bread won't rise as high, and the overall texture and appearance will be dense.

How do you make pizza dough rise better? ›

Ensure you are leaving your dough in an environment which is warm enough to get the yeast working faster. The extra yeast is fairly obvious, and the extra sugar is some extra food for the yeast – it will make sure it is feeding and producing gas as an outcome.

How long to let pizza dough rise before kneading it? ›

If you're planning to make pizza today, then give the dough a rise. Clean out the mixing bowl, coat it with a little oil, and transfer the dough back inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Is it better to let pizza dough rise twice? ›

Yes. In fact, letting the dough rise twice is highly encouraged if you're making Neapolitan-style pizza. This is because it gives a lot more time for the yeast and dough to interact with one another and create that perfect, chewy crust.

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